The pursuit of nuclear weapons by more states led to calls for an international framework to halt proliferation. Discussions on a treaty began at the United Nations in 1959. After multiple drafts, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States signed the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) on July 1, 1968, agreeing to pursue general disarmament.1United Nations (UNODA), Office for Disarmament Affairs. “Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).” Accessed July 29, 2023. Link. China and France did not join until 1992.
The nonnuclear signatories pledged to forgo the acquisition of nuclear weapons.
Today, 190 countries are party to the NPT, making it the most widely adhered-to arms control agreement. Only India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, and South Sudan remain outside the treaty—the first four of which possess or are suspected to possess nuclear weapons.
